Yours Forever
by thatbritishkidd
Summary: The tale of how Queen Marceline's and Princess Bonnibel's young romance came to be, told through the eyes of the princess. AU. One-shot. Bubbline.


**My grammar might be off because my spell check is a little bit weak but enjoy!**

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I think the first time I saw her she was wearing these thick heavy boots. And I remember because she used those very same boots to tread all over my Aunt's Azaelia's. For a month my Aunt believed that overgrown squirrels had finally invaded the land. She didn't know it was Lord Abadeer's unruly daughter, who was eight at the time, Marceline.

Back then she was absolutely uncontrollable. She didn't listen to anyone, and constantly teased me, although I was the one who helped hide her from my Mother's wrath. She always believed she was the boss, but back then her head was more in the clouds. She'd have great dreams of adventures and I would be lured in by the depth of her imagination, and let her lead me to all strange places.

When she was twelve, she lured me to this hidden swamp deep inside the dark forest. The area we were forbidden to trespass. There was absolutely nothing special about the place. Especially, in the autumn season, where the mud could easily stain soft and flimsy dresses. And thorns could easily scratch thin and scrawny legs, like mine. But, even so she still saw the beauty in it. At the time, I couldn't appreciate it, maybe it was because I was two years younger. Yet, Marceline's matured perspective could. She admired how the scraggly weeds fought for their survival, among all the other vegetation in this lack of sunshine area, and still lived. She thought that the will to keep fighting was absolutely beautiful and I thought she had gone absolutely crazy. Then she told me, in the most sincerest voice I had ever heard her speak "one day, I'd love to take my kids to see this swamp."

After that, Marceline turned thirteen and was headed straight for boarding school. I only saw her near christmas times, whenever Lord Abadeer had business in Ooo. And by then, I was sure she had forgotten me and our adventures. She had stopped wearing loose black overalls, and had donned more suits. The imagination, and childlike spark in her eyes, had disappeared into dull holes. By then I realised that if Marceline had forgotten me, then it was only time that I forgot her too.

And I continued about my life similar to that too, until I had my eighteenth birthday, and as a gift, my mother had invited me to a meeting concerning the land's affairs. It was then that I saw her standing and talking to other council men as equals, in a black suit decorated with a shiny gold medallion. As the meeting came to a close, I left my mother to observe the area. It was only then that Marceline and I had accidentally walked into each others' paths, and after eight years of not speaking she tells me "I suppose I should start calling you Princess now." All that pent-up anger, I hadn't even realised I was still latching onto, had been released in the words I spoke to her. I knew I was coming off, rude, cold, and hostile. But I didn't know how she thought she could just stroll into my life after all these years when she left a void with no explanation. Marce- Lady Marceline was never one to take an insult silently. She returned my own harsh words with her own. Before I knew it, I was back in my room crying in my mother's lap.

"She hates me! She absolutely hates me!" I wailed and sobbed for fifteen minutes, until I had calmed down enough for mother to send me on an errand. I didn't understand why she wanted me to go to the market to buy strawberries, when we had a multitude of maids who could do it for her, until I arrived there. There was Marceline sat outside the tent, eating her lunch. The moment she saw me, she quickly stood up to leave. Instinctively, I yelled out "wait!" Unfortunately, I hadn't prepared any words to speak to Marceline, so I could do the first thing that came to the top of my head.  
"I owe you an apology for earlier today, please, let me buy you some strawberries." What I wasn't expecting was for Marceline to agree with a short-

"-fine." We stood waiting in awkward silences through the queue, only interrupted by Marceline's short and heavy sighs. Then she had mustered up the courage to ask me "why didn't you come see me off?" I could only respond with a confused look, which she then replied to with "when I was leaving for boarding school. I wrote you a letter. And when you didn't respond I thought you weren't interested in our friendship anymore so why?"

"A letter? I never received a letter."

"Please don't lie to me Princess, I handed it personally to your Aunt." Then I had never felt so angry wretched Aunt Julia had failed to notify me about Marceline's letter.

"Marceline I swear, I have not received any of your letters from my Aunt. She probably threw it away the chance she got. She hates me, and she hates me more when I'm with you."

"Well that's a shame." Then before I knew it I could feel Marceline's long black hairs stroke my face. How did she manage to get this close to me? "I really liked us when we were together."

That was probably the beginning of Marceline and mine's secret rendezvous to meet each other, which normally ended with me leaving with my scarf high up my neck. Why she liked my neck so much I could never tell.

When she was 21 years old Marceline's father had died, and she was declared, essentially Queen of the Nightosphere, that Marceline started bearing the responsibility of her people. Her words had meaning and so did her actions. I really thought that this _thing_ that we had would have to end, and every time I thought that, a piece of me died inside. Eventually, she would marry a suitor and have children, and that would be her new life. But instead, she declared with all her heart that she would marry me, and I froze. She settled my fears by saying "It's my kingdom I do what I want, and it could be yours too."

"Then what about children? You told me you wanted to take your kids to see the swamp."

"You still remember that?" But then a large toothy grin appeared on her face and she chuckled. "Why have kids, when we could have each other?" Like that all my fears melted away. The idea of Marceline and I, being together, properly was enough. It was more than enough. It was anything I could've ever asked for and more. For the first time in my life I was really _really_ happy.

The last time I saw Marceline, I was just close to turning twenty. No one could really figure out what was wrong with me, but even so Marceline stayed by my side trying to cheer me up, and change my last days from a dull and emotionless void, into an adventure. Each day being completely different, and if she couldn't bring me anything different or tell me anything different she'd tell me about her time in boarding school. Or how she earned her medallion in a war. Or maybe even about some memory of us playing in the garden together. I was so grateful that I could still feel her face, even if it was wet from tears. She was still the same bossy, childish, amazing Marceline that I knew and loved. I still wanted to stay with her, to see our wedding day through. I didn't want to go through all the effort of getting my mother's support, and re-earning my place in the kingdom just for me to lose here! It wasn't fair. I could feel her finger gently stroking my cheek, it was her turn to wipe away my tears. But if I could feel her, just for this bit longer, that was enough. My time no longer became my luxury. For the first and last time I finally appreciated Marceline's perspective about the weeds in the forest. I became so weak that my laugh was purely a hard breath.

"What is it Bonnibel?" She asked with so much worry in her voice I thought it might break.

"I love you Marceline."

"I love you too Bonnibel. You are worth everything, so don't leave me here. Don't go


End file.
